We recently connected with Gerald Bakasa and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Gerald thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I have at times thought about giving it all up and going to do something “regular” but I’ve done that before and it showed me that I’m quite the ‘irregular’ individual.

Before I gave up on trying to fit my rounded self into a square hole, I used to work at a family restaurant and do creative work on the side. I’d show up late, thinking about making paintings all day instead of tending a bar for a living. It drove me crazy, honestly. I couldn’t get all these ideas out of my head and I found myself sketching behind the bar when it was a bit quiet. One night when the bar was really quiet, I was sketching as usual and two of my managers saw. After admiring my work for a bit, one asked me “What are you doing behind a bar?”

I was stumped. I didn’t know what to say. I kinda shrugged and smiled at the time, but those words cut so deep. It was then and there that I truly realized I’m not made for that kinda stuff.
Creative work is where my heart is and when I’m not doing it, I’m Insufferable.

Looking back on it, I remember having a difficult time relating to people and being friendly during my employment at the bar, because I was frustrated about the lack of creative work I’d been doing.
I had a super sever case of “art block” and it almost ruined my life. I’m so grateful to be in a position to be creative full time and I can’t ever discount that.

I love my job and I’m happy I get to be immersed in art all day.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

That’s a pretty big ask, and I’ve got an equally big answer.

I’ve been obsessed with visual art for as long as I can remember and recently I’ve developed a passion for the studying and teaching of creativity.

Life story time!

At 6 years old I remember watching cartoons on TV and proclaiming to my mom “I’m gonna be a cartoon when I grow up!” I’ve never stopped chasing that little kid’s goofy dream.

My first memory of being creative is tracing cars out of some Mercedes catalogues my dad wasn’t too happy about us finding. From there, it developed into drawing cartoons, cars and game characters in class. Here I found out about the joy and pain of formal art education. I enrolled in my school’s art programme and despite my efforts, through primary and highschool, I never got an A or any drawing related awards. I thought that kinda sucked, and I was determined to keep chasing that dream despite it.

To that end, I enrolled in the Open Window Institute and studied film for two years until COVID struck and derailed a lot of my plans.

I had to reset and find a way to stay on the part and make my dream a reality.

I kept at it, I made many, many mistakes and i ultimately ended up starting a brand that’s now helping me realise my dreams of making cartoons.

Africuzdotpng is the name and we are a Zimbabwean, visual art collective focused on elevating the quality of pan-African art with teamwork, passion and collaborative efforts that benefit our community. Our mission is to foster a creative community that empowers artists of all kinds to experiment, innovate, and thrive. We provide a platform for collaboration, resource sharing, and mutual support, celebrating diverse perspectives and artistic expressions. We aim to create art that is both of high quality and great value to present to the world at large.

Our Vision:

We show, not tell. To that end, we have participated in a few historic projects for Zimbabwe’s art industry.

In 2022 We worked on the Kalabash anthology, Zimbabwe’s first manga anthology, published by Afro Tokyo. During that time we participated in the Scripts and Bars programme, facilitated by Eugene Mapondera, Keith Kuudzai and Kay Media Africa.
In that same year we went on to exhibit at Comic Con Africa’s artist alley where Kalabash sold out. We exhibited and sold out again the following year in 2023.

In 2024 so far we have collaborated with Caligraph and other artists, along with the encouragement and authority of City of Harare, Zimbabwe and City of Munich, Germany, to participate and contribute to the first ever open street exhibition in Zimbabwe. This exhibition was held in honor of International Bicycle day and was an extension of the ongoing partnership of Harare and Munich as the “Twin Cities”.

We value a lot over here.

Nurturing artistic growth and development
– Encouraging experimentation and risk-taking
– Providing opportunities for exhibition, performance, and showcase of skills
– Building bridges between art, community, and social impact
– Creating a safe and inclusive space for creative expression and dialogue

As a collective we strive to amplify the voices and visions of our members, contributing to a vibrant and dynamic arts ecosystem that inspires and enriches our world.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

How’d you get the startup capital to start the business?

This has been a very long time coming. As I yapped about earlier I’ve been dreaming of being a full time creative since I was 6. When I was 17, I started my journey into the business of art in earnest, however the groundwork for that “first” step had been laid since I was 14.

I live in Zimbabwe and if you know anything about this place, you know it’s pretty isolated and expensive. Luckily my family lives all around the world and they helped me get started with my art.

When I was 12, I had the privilege of going on vacation to see some far away relatives and we came back with so many art supplies for painting on paper that I still have some of them to this day. Soon, paper wasn’t enough to fill my creative needs. At age 14, I mustered up exactly one courage and asked my great aunt for a Wacom Intuos manga pen and touch for my birthday.

She sent it through and after a long wait, we finally collected it and my collection of digital art tools began. Adding to that collection was a Dell Inspiron 15 laptop that I got for school at age 15. It later broke due to damage and I sold the parts to fund the purchase of my first desktop PC whom I lovingly named BR3ND4

The parts didn’t sell for much so I had to buy a super old 4th gen motherboard and for months, I used it with no graphics card. This setup is what I used for my first commercial project at age 17. A logo design for my Gogo *( Shona for grandmother).

Using the money that Gogo generously paid me, I bought more beefy equipment and upgraded my pc to have a GPU and a case. The rest is history because who really cares what tablets you use, as long as your work is good.

From this little recount of my life, I can really see how much I’ve been supported by my family and I’m eternally grateful to them for pushing me and keeping me on the right track. I love them💞

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Going to my first international convention (Comic Con Africa ) for the first time ever, with only enough money to get there, some old sketchbooks and some really great friends.

During 2022 I heard about Comic Con Africa from a friend who does digital art. At the time, I had only been to local, Zimbabwean conventions like Comexposed, Converge and had never seen an international stage up close. That was all about to change in ways I could never have imagined.

I asked about the budget for a show like this and I was told $1000+. I had $500. I was stuck. I wanted to go and show my stuff to the world, but it seemed I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t accept this. I knew a friend, Kuda Rwizi, his sister Rutendo and best friend Malcolm were making the trip as Team Mutupo!

Swallowing my pride, I decided to ask them to combine our efforts and make it a group road trip.

Luckily, they accepted and we went on our way. We stayed in the same Airbnb and while they prepped for the launch of Mutupo, what’s become Zimbabwe’s most popular manga, i prepped my table with stickers, prints and paintings from Nu Afrika. A mystery graphic novel I’ve been working on with a friend for the past few years. A different Kuda.

As luck would have it, some people were very into Nu Afrika and they bought enough of my stuff for me to make the return trip home! I’m endlessly grateful to my friends for supporting me and helping through the times when I couldn’t move alone.

I wouldn’t be here if I tried to go it alone.
I love you guys

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/africuzdotpng/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GerryBakasa
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@africuz.mp4
• Other: Email at [email protected]

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